Page 8 of Forever Your Touch

“Of course,” the most brazen of the lot said. Stick figure Barbie wannabe. Her makeup was so thick, Jo wondered if she had any real skin left under it. “I’ll look for you.”

Mason winked at them. “See you there.” When he turned back to Jo, the grin slipped from his face. He pulled out his own schedule, and they started searching for books in earnest.

As they worked their way through the bookstore, more and more people stopped Mason to talk. He seemed to be very popular. He had an easy smile for them all, but she saw the impatience glittering beneath the surface. He seemed irritated at the attention, which didn’t fit the persona she’d tacked onto him over the last two hours. All the traffic stops by way of his friends had kept them at the bookstore longer than she’d expected it to.

Jo had a feeling there was more to him than the easygoing, laidback guy he let people see.

“You got everything?” he asked when he finally managed to slip away from the last of them.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s roll, babe. I got shit to do today.”

“I didn’t ask you to bring me.” He sounded angry he’d had to bring her when he was the one who’d all but ordered her to come with him. Asshole.

“No, I volunteered myself as your personal chauffeur for the day.” He shot her a sheepish look. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound grumpy. I got a lot to do before the party at the frat tonight. Sleeping until noon doesn’t help either.”

Jo hefted her books and started to walk in front of him, but she stumbled over her own feet and flew forward, her books flying every which way. She closed her eyes, embarrassed at the snickers and outright laughs. Why, oh why, did she have to be so clumsy?

Strong hands hauled her up, and she groaned, knowing her face must be flaming red.

“You okay?” Mason asked, concerned as he gathered her books.

“Fine.” She tried to take her books from him, but he shook his head.

“Nope. You are hazardous to their health.”

Jo sputtered, angry and embarrassed all over again.

“Come on.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hauled her to the checkout line. “Let’s get you checked out before you kill yourself.”

“I’m not that bad.” She had to go and embarrass herself in front of him, didn’t she?

“Whatever you say, darlin’.”

They checked out and walked back to the truck. Mason took her books from her the second she paid for them. They were heavy, but so were his. As embarrassed as she felt, it was kind of nice. She’d forgotten what it was like to have someone carry things for her. Ray stopped a few months after they got together in high school.

“Why don’t you and Ray come to the frat party tonight?” Mason asked once they were back on the road.

“We have dinner with his parents tonight.” Something she wasn’t looking forward to.

“Come after. These things run all night.”

“I’ve never been to a frat party before,” she confessed. She’d wanted to say yes the second he’d asked her to go, but Ray wouldn’t want to.

“Why the hell not?”

“Ray never wanted to go to any, so…”

Mason shook his head. “Well, invitation’s open. Come if you want. They’re a hell of a lot of fun.”

The rest of the drive home was silent. She snuck a few glances at Mason. He looked deep in thought. His scent wafted over to her, a mixture of leather and something else she couldn’t identify, but she liked it.

He was Ray’s polar opposite. Tall, muscled…ripped with a six-pack she saw through his skintight t-shirt. Mason worked out. You couldn’t get that kind of body, or at least keep it, if you didn’t. In every photo she’d ever seen of him, he was smiling, his eyes laughing. He was the same in person.

She was startled when the engine cut off. Looking up, she saw they were at her place. His smile was back when he got out and reached into the truck bed to retrieve her bags full of books. “Meet me for breakfast on Monday?”

“Mason…”

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